Implementation of the catechumenate in the UGCC – the theme of another day of the synodal session

The Thursday morning session of the Synod of Bishops was dedicated to the issue of implementation of the catechumenate in the UGCC. According to Bishop Bohdan (Dzyurakh), “catechumenate is a sort of a spiritual endeavor which candidates for Baptism underwent in the first centuries of the Church’s existence in order to become full and lively members of the Church. This process of introduction of a candidate into the mysteries of Christian faith and Christian way of life could last for two, three years or even longer. During this whole period, a person under the guidance of an experienced Christian or a priest learnt the basics of Christian faith, but foremost he/she learnt what it means to be a Christian from the example of the lives of Christians and through more and more intimate participation in the life of Christian community”.

The Thursday morning session of the Synod of Bishops was dedicated to the issue of implementation of the catechumenate in the UGCC. According to Bishop Bohdan (Dzyurakh), “catechumenate is a sort of a spiritual endeavor which candidates for Baptism underwent in the first centuries of the Church’s existence in order to become full and lively members of the Church. This process of introduction of a candidate into the mysteries of Christian faith and Christian way of life could last for two, three years or even longer. During this whole period, a person under the guidance of an experienced Christian or a priest learnt the basics of Christian faith, but foremost he/she learnt what it means to be a Christian from the example of the lives of Christians and through more and more intimate participation in the life of Christian community”.
The UGCC paid its attention to the catechumenate 2 years ago, when according to the decision of the 2009 Synod of Bishops, a working group was created which had to analyze the possibility of implementation of this practice in nowadays church reality.
In the vision of the Synodal Fathers, the experience of catechumenate should be of the Church’s aid in two directions: during the preparation for the receiving of the Sacraments of Initiation and also for the deepening of faith of baptized members of the Church who could not be fully introduced during the soviet period into church life and remained merely “nominal Christians” whose faith did not become a measure of their daily deeds and intentions.
This year’s Synod considered the first suggestions prepared by a working group headed by S. Luisa Tsyupa, SSMI,
and set it as a base for further elaboration. The working group was commissioned with elaboration of study books using which parish priests and catechists will be able to carry out a catechumenate course for adults who wish to be baptized in the UGCC. Besides that, liturgical rites necessary for the implementation of the catechumenate will be adapted. The Patriarchal Liturgical Commission was entrusted with this task. The materials prepared by the working group will be also useful for parish priests who can introduce in their parishes special courses for deepening of spiritual life for those Christians who, despite the fact of being baptized, did not have an opportunity for thorough catechization.
The implementation of the catechumenate will be a part of a wider Strategy of development of the Church for the period until 2020 which is being elaborated by this year’s Synod. At the end of this session on catechumenate, Bishops were presented with a copy of a recently published UGCC Catechism.